Kristen Bicknell Talks Nutrition, Travel Plans and the Super High Roller in Rozvadov
Former online grinder and two-time WSOP bracelet winner Kristen Bicknell has become a fixture on the live poker circuit in the last few years and sat down with the PokerNews team for an in promptu interview during a break of the €10,350 WSOPE Main Event.
Just a few days ago, the Canadian took shot at the most expensive live event of her poker career so far, the €100,000 King's Super High Roller.
“It was my first 100k, yeah” the Canadian replied and elaborated further on what she noticed during the event.
“I guess there is a level of prestige in the room about it, and hype around it. But to be honest, maybe I am naive, but that it is very similar to playing 25ks. It is the same event, it is still poker, just a different buy-in and the field is smaller too, which makes it easier to do well potentially. For me, beyond the prestige, I guess the attitude around the event is not a lot different.”
Not only the who-is-who of the international poker scene regularly battles against each other at the highest buy-in levels, but also recreational players enjoy the competition against the best in the world. While the first attempt in a six-figure buy-in tournament hasn't been crowned with success, it is part of the learning experience for the Canadian.
“I am playing with many I have already played with and then a lot of people who I have never played against before, who only play High Rollers, more recreational players. Yeah, it was a really fun event because of that, it is such a cool mix of people.”
Bicknell was among those that took advantage of the extended late registration on Day 1 and the first levels of Day 2, and happened to get seated right next to Alex Foxen. Both talk a lot of poker strategy away from the tables and faced off several times deep in tournaments already.
“Well, to be honest, for one thing, me and him we play different styles, but I don't think anyone wants to be on his table. He really fights for every hand and I would rather be the person fighting for and winning the hands. I'd rather see him on the final table and until then stay out of his way.”
Since Bicknell has become a regular face on the live circuit, her approach towards the game and the daily preparation has shifted to more quality in general in order to stay competitive.
“I have been traveling for over a year now and something I have been trying in the last couple of months to focus more on is making sure that my sleep quality is good, that I can take whatever vitamins and supplements. I think exercising and eating well is really important. Diet is the number one thing that you can control.”
For all those that try to keep an eye on their daily calories, the daily free buffet available to all players at the King's Casino is not necessarily the best place to be. Next to the healthy fruits, one doesn't need to look far to find sugary desserts that please the eye and mind for certain.
“For example, they just had a dessert that looked kinda good at the buffet for my dinner break. I know if I eat that, it hurts my mental game a little bit. It's not good for my body, my brain is not gonna think as well as it would if I didn't. I try to avoid sugar, avoid carbohydrates and I am really interested in nutrition and the link between your brain and mind. Just getting a good night sleep, trying to work out ... I think I really believe in positive visualization and trying to be positive before a tournament, seeing every tournament as one I can possibly win and visualizing that.
All American Dave during the World Series of Poker is a prime example of healthier but expensive nutrition and a lot of professional poker players take advantage of that service so close to the venue. However, this attitude is not as common yet during most other stops of the international poker circuit.
“A lot of people for sure lack appreciation for nutrition, lifestyle and the number of people that drink too much in my eyes … If people would cut out alcohol, it might actually improve not necessarily their poker game but their ability to play more often and frequently. The struggle for me is traveling stop to stop to stop and not be burned out, trying to limit that burnout as much as possible. To be honest, the biggest challenge for me is packing my suitcase and having clean clothes, it used to be difficult.”
Bicknell has been regularly working with poker mind coaches Jared Tendler and Elliot Roe in the last one and a half years and studies nutrition herself. She has a strong interest in nutrition as well, and if poker ever gets boring or if she had not been finding her way into the poker world, that would have been a very likely work field for the Canadian.
“It is kind of a hobby of mine to study nutrition, I am always reading what I can and try to apply it on my own life. I think I would probably be a nutritionist, or a personal trainer. Something to do with health and fitness. If I had enough money I would open a gym or something like that. I love the health and fitness industry and I like business in general, I would probably try to combine the two.”
Of all the (poker) places Bicknell traveled to, some clear favorites have already emerged and a trip to Melbourne for the Aussie Millions early next year seems to be set in stone.
“As far as poker trips are concerned, my favorite has been Australia. For one thing, going there after Christmas and leaving wintery Canada to be in the summer in Australia is nice and it is a good atmosphere. The Crown Casino does a really good job hosting the event and that is definitely one of my favorite. Aside from that, before this trip, we went to Positano in Italy and just got an Airbnb for a few days and that was probably one of my favorite spots. It was really pretty and relaxing.”
Especially Switzerland and the Northern European countries are also very high up on the “to-do list” of Bicknell. “I want to see the Northern Lights, that's definitely something I want to see.”
As Bicknell prepared to get back to her seat after the dinner break on Day 2 of the 2018 WSOPE Main Event, fellow partypoker pro Anatoly Filatov walked by.
“How did you do last night?” Bicknell asked, referring to the big online schedule on Sundays.
“Two first places, including the one where I busted you with five four,” Filatov replied with a grin. You can find out about the two victories of Filatov right here. While the Russian got the better of Bicknell at the online tables the previous day, it is the Canadian that had been doing much better just before the dinner break. Filatov was up to almost half a million in chips, but lost several big pots to return with a mere 70,000, while Bicknell had amassed very healthy 410,000.
Follow along with the live updates right here on PokerNews to find out just how far Bicknell will go in this event.